2 Kings 17:25

17:25 When they first moved in, ¹  they did not worship ²  the Lord. So the Lord sent lions among them and the lions were killing them.

2 Kings 17:27-28

17:27 So the king of Assyria ordered, “Take back one of the priests whom you ³  deported from there. He must settle there and teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” ⁴  17:28 So one of the priests whom they had deported from Samaria went back and settled in Bethel. ⁵  He taught them how to worship ⁶  the Lord.

2 Kings 17:33

17:33 They were worshiping ⁷  the Lord and at the same time serving their own gods in accordance with the practices of the nations from which they had been deported.

¹ tn Heb “in the beginning of their living there.”

² tn Heb “fear.”

³ tc The second plural subject may refer to the leaders of the Assyrian army. However, some prefer to read “whom I deported,” changing the verb to a first person singular form with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix. This reading has some support from Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic witnesses.

⁴ tc Heb “and let them go and let them live there, and let him teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” The two plural verbs seem inconsistent with the preceding and following contexts, where only one priest is sent back to Samaria. The singular has the support of Greek, Syriac, and Latin witnesses.

⁵ map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

⁶ tn Heb “fear.”

⁷ tn Heb “fearing.”